


Stasis

by KaelinaLovesLomaris



Series: Whumptober 2019 - FFXV [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt Noctis Lucis Caelum, Stasis, Video Game Mechanics, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21752755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaelinaLovesLomaris/pseuds/KaelinaLovesLomaris
Summary: Noctis sneaks off alone at night, sometime early in the roadtrip, and ends up near stasis in a fight.Part of my collection of Whumptober 2019 prompts.
Series: Whumptober 2019 - FFXV [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1505405
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	Stasis

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 Prompt: Shaky Hands
> 
> Title subject to change.

He was close to stasis. He could feel it in the fatigue that had nothing to do with physical tiredness, in the aching void in his chest, and in the unsteady shaking of his hands. All signs that Gladio had drilled him into recognizing, pushing him to and past his limits every so often in training. But knowing he was approaching stasis wasn’t much help when he wasn’t in a position to _do_ anything about it. It was one thing when he was safe in the Citadel’s training rooms, sparring with his Shield or even Cor when the Marshal was not out on the frontlines. It was another thing entirely when he was facing a squad of Magiteks on his own.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. He knew better than to leave the safety of a haven on his own at night, but he hadn’t been able to sleep, his mind conjuring up increasingly graphic images of how his dad might have died every time he closed his eyes.

Noctis ground his teeth, parrying another blow and trying to maneuver his way out of the circle the MTs were starting to close around him without warping out. His hands were shaking around the hilt of the Engine Blade, and one more warp, even a short one, would probably drive him to stasis and then he would be worse than helpless.

He needed just a second to catch his breath and take an elixir to restore his magic. That normally wouldn’t be a problem if his friends were with him to cover him. Six, it would even be feasible to duck behind a rock and wait a few minutes for the magic to trickle back naturally. But he had left them sleeping in their tent and snuck out on his own. If he survived this, Gladio was going to kill him.

Noctis cried out as a bullet from one of the snipers tore through his arm. He lost his grip on his sword, and it shattered back into the Armiger before it hit the ground. Swearing, he ducked under the closest MT’s swing to avoid decapitation and _ran._

But apparently the only Astral paying him any attention tonight was Ifrit. The ground bubbled with blue-hued darkness just ahead of him as an Iron Giant and an assortment of other, less dangerous daemons manifested between himself and safety.

The void in his chest had eased up a fraction during his flight, his continued activity preventing his magic from regenerating as fast as it would if he was at rest, but it might be enough. He summoned a dagger, the smallest, easiest weapon to bring to hand, and threw it as hard and as far as he could with his flagging strength through the dwindling gap between the two groups of enemies.

Stasis hit him with the force of slamming into a wall and the dagger was gone in shards of crystal by the time his fingers touched it again, but he was clear of both the MTs and the daemons by a few precious meters. Every cell in his body was screaming for him to just lie down and rest right where he was, but that wasn’t an option.

Noctis stumbled to his feet and half crawled behind a nearby rock formation. That might buy him enough time to get enough magic back to summon an elixir from the Armiger.

Waiting was torturous, and Noctis finally became aware of the burn in his arm from the bullet wound. He hissed through clenched teeth as he pressed a hand against it to staunch the bleeding. The elixir would take care of that too, but not if he passed out from blood loss first.

He forced himself to count out another thirty seconds before he summoned an elixir. The rush of power from the healing liquid always made him feel a little heady, and he grinned as the void inside him vanished along with the pain in his arm.

Noctis didn’t look back as he dashed towards the haven, his heart pounding louder than his footsteps. As soon as it was in sight, he pulled the Engine Blade from the Armiger again and flung it into the tree closest to the haven. He savored the exhilaration of a warp when he was no longer on the verge of stasis as he slammed back to corporeality against the tree. He didn’t bother yanking the blade from the tree, just dismissed it as he stepped into the haven, the protective runes better defense than any weapon.

Noctis finally looked into the forest behind him, but there was no sign of either the daemons or the MTs. Maybe they had destroyed each other after he had slipped through their fingers, maybe they had simply given up after he had made that final warp. He wasn’t actually sure how close daemons could get to the havens. He had never had one chase him that closely before, and he wasn’t about to test it again.

Their campfire was burning low, but there were still some small flames amongst the coals, so Noctis dropped into his chair beside it while he waited for his heart to settle and his breath to calm. Even if his friends were all still somehow asleep, he’d rather not risk them waking when he entered the tent and seeing him in this state.

He grimaced as he examined the bloodstained tear in his sleeve. It would be difficult to explain that to Ignis and impossible to have it escape his notice. Despite his glasses, his advisor had the sharpest eyes when it came to anything involving Noctis’s well-being. He was going to get a lecture from both Ignis and Gladio, and then Gladio was going to kill him. Briefly, Noctis thought it might have been easier to just let the MTs kill him.

He spent the next few minutes trying and failing to come up with some reasonable excuse for the damage to his clothing that did not involve Noctis being an idiot and nearly dying, with little success. But the adrenaline had finally worn off and he was feeling the exhaustion that follows. At the very least, the whole experience would hopefully make him tired enough to actually fall asleep for once.

None of his friends woke when he entered the tent or while he quickly got ready for bed. But even once he was curled up between Gladio and Prompto, warm and comfortable in his blankets with no other remaining signs of stasis, his hands still wouldn’t stop shaking.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr at [prince-noctisluciscaelum](https://prince-noctisluciscaelum.tumblr.com)!


End file.
